Alignment tool for assembling a rear plate and a frame of a flat display panel

ABSTRACT

An alignment tool for assembling a rear plate and a frame of a flat display panel is introduced. The rear plate includes a front surface, a rear surface opposing to the front surface for adhering with the frame in an aligning process, and an alignment mark located at the front surface. The alignment mark has a predetermined thickness and is protruded from the front surface. The alignment tool includes a base, a clamp arm and an upper arm. The base further includes a base top surface and an alignment notch. The base top surface is used for contacting with the front surface of the rear plate and the alignment notch has at least two alignment sides for matching with the alignment mark. The clamp arm is protruded from the base, and the upper arm is protruded from the clamp arm and used for aligning with the frame. The upper arm includes an arm lower surface parallel to and spaced apart from the base top surface by a predetermined distance for forming an open space in between. The rear plate is sandwiched in the open space during the aligning process, and the alignment mark is leaned upon the alignment sides of the alignment notch, such that the alignment mark is inserted into the alignment notch.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] (1) Field of the Invention

[0002] The invention relates to an alignment tool for assembling a rearplate and a frame of a flat display panel, and more particularly to atool which utilizes an alignment mark having a substantial thicknesslocated on the rear plate to align the rear plate and the frame prior toan adhesion process.

[0003] (2) Description of the Prior Art

[0004] Referring to FIG. 1, a perspective view of a conventional flatdisplay panel (usually seen in a plasma display) is shown to illustratethe position of a metal frame 3, a glass rear plate 2 and a glass frontplate 1. After assembling the front plate 1 and the rear plate 2, themetal frame 3 is overlapped and adhered to a rear surface 22 of the rearplate 2 by a binder, for example, a 3M VHB-type dual-side glue. Inpractice, the alignment accuracy between the frame 3 and the rear plate2 is extremely important for the following assembling process of thedisplay panel. The alignment accuracy in between strongly relates to theinstallation of the electronic elements onto the frame 3 and theelectrical connection between the rear pane 2 and the front plate 1because the electrical connection is usually made by bypassing the sidesof the frame 3. In the art, two types of alignment methods are usuallyused for assembling the rear plate 2 and the frame 3, including a manualaligning method and a mechanical aligning method.

[0005] Please refer to FIG. 2 which is a schematic view showing theconventional manual aligning method for assembling the glass rear plate2 and the metal frame 3. As shown, flat alignment marks 21 without asubstantial thickness is formed at on the front surface 20 of the rearplate 2. Besides, corresponding alignment notches 31 are formed on theframe 3. A conventional alignment tool 4 having an inspection window 41is firstly positioned on the rear surface 22 of the rear plate 2 in themanual aligning method, and the inspection window 41 is lying on top ofthe alignment mark 21. Then, a top protrusion (not shown) of thealignment tool 4 can be used to align with the alignment notch 31 of theframe 3. After the alignment is done, the alignment tool 4 can beremoved. The dual-side glue is arranged between the rear plate 2 and theframe 3 in advance, so the frame 3 is then lowered down and adhere tothe rear plate 2. Nevertheless, the prior manual aligning methodpresents following disadvantages.

[0006] 1. The alignment mark 21 is electroplated on the front surface 20of the rear plate 2, and the alignment operator observes the mark 21from the rear surface 22 of the rear plate 2. The visional deviation mayoccur in the alignment process because the rear plate 2 has a thicknessof 3 mm at least in FIG. 2. Therefore, the error in this kind ofaligning work has an extended degree of human dependence.

[0007] 2. Some clamps are usually used to fix the alignment tool 4 andthe rear plate 2 in the prior alignment method. The clamp forcing mightvary case by case due to some human factors, therefore, breaking orcracking of the rear plate 2 is happened when a undue force is applied.Besides, the position shift between the rear plate 2 and the alignmenttool 4 may occur when the clamp force is insufficient.

[0008] On the other hand, the mechanical aligning method may waive thehuman factors so that aforesaid disadvantages can be eliminated. Yet,following restrictions may still be happened in the mechanical aligningmethod.

[0009] 1. The cost of the machine is high. Due to a high accuracy,optical automatic positioning mechanism and driving mechanism cannot besubstituted by some low-price elements.

[0010] 2. The machine has a poor suitability. As long as the machine issetup, it is difficult to adjust the machine in time according todifferent products.

[0011] Therefore, a simplified, low-cost, and high accuracy alignmenttool should be developed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention toprovide an alignment tool for assembling a rear plate and a frame of aflat display panel which is simply operated, low-cost, and highprecision in aligning the rear plate with the frame.

[0013] It is another object of the present invention to provide analignment tool for assembling a rear plate and a frame of a flat displaypanel, in which an alignment mark with a substantial thickness isprovided to cooperate with an alignment notch so that the aligningoperation can be speeded up and aforesaid human factors can beeliminated.

[0014] It is a further object of the present invention to provide analignment tool for assembling a rear plate and a frame of a flat displaypanel, in which a roller-type fastening mechanism is provided to clampthe rear plate and the alignment tool.

[0015] In accordance with the present invention, the alignment tool isoperated between the rear plate and the frame during an aligningprocess. The alignment tool includes a base, a clamp arm and an upperarm. The rear plate includes a front surface, a rear surface opposing tothe front surface and adhering with the frame, and an alignment markformed on the front surface with a predetermined thickness and protrudedfrom the front surface. The base of the alignment tool further includesa base top surface and an alignment notch. The base top surface contactswith the front surface of the rear plate, and the alignment notch has atleast two alignment sides to match with the alignment mark.

[0016] The clamp arm is protruded from the base of the alignment tool,and the upper arm is protruded from the clamp arm. The upper arm foraligning with the frame has a arm lower surface parallel to and spacedapart from the base top surface by a predetermined distance and formingan open space in between. The arm lower surface contacts with the rearsurface of the rear plate during the aligning operation.

[0017] In the present invention, the rear plate is sandwiched within theopen space between the base top surface and the arm lower surface duringthe aligning process. The alignment mark is leaned upon the alignmentsides of the alignment notch so that the alignment mark is inserted intothe alignment notch and the upper arm is positioned in the aperture ofthe frame. By providing the design of the alignment mark and thealignment notch, the aligning process can be done without eye deviation.

[0018] In the present invention, the rear plate can further include alateral side connecting the front surface and the rear surface, and thealignment tool includes an inner vertical surface adjacent to the openspace. The lateral side of the rear plate is positioned next to theinner vertical surface while the inner vertical surface is aligned withthe rear plate.

[0019] In one embodiment of the present invention, the alignment notchcan be formed as a wedge-shaped opening for providing two lateral sidesas the alignment sides. In one embodiment of the present invention, thealignment mark includes at least two slanted edges for respectivelymatching with the alignment sides of the alignment tool and for slidinginto the alignment notch during the aligning process.

[0020] In another embodiment of the present invention, the frame has anaperture, and the alignment tool includes a base, a clamp arm and anupper arm. The upper arm further includes an arm lower surface and analignment element, the alignment element can align to the aperture ofthe frame, and the lower surface is parallel and spaced apart from thebase top surface by a predetermined distance and forming an open spacein between. The arm lower surface contacts with the rear surface of therear plate during the aligning process. The upper arm can furtherinclude a lower opening and an interior accommodation space foraccommodating a fastening mechanism. A portion of the fasteningmechanism is exposed from the lower opening. By using the fasteningmechanism, the rear plate can be gradually fastened between the theupper arm and the base while the alignment tool is feeding toward therear plate.

[0021] The fastening mechanism can include a roller spaced apart fromthe arm lower surface a distance. The roller can move along apredetermined track to shorten the distance between the roller and thearm lower surface of the upper arm while feeding the alignment tooltoward the rear plate. Furthermore, the roller can rotate by a pivotshaft for moving along the track. The roller can be a wheel, a ball, orany the like. The material for the roller can be a rubber, a plasticmaterial, a cloth, or any compressible material the like.

[0022] The fastening mechanism can be a wedge having a narrower end, andthe interior accommodation space of the upper arm can be shaped as awedge-shaped space having a restricted end. The narrower end of thewedge and the restricted end of the wedge-shaped space are located closeto the clamp arm so as to gradually fasten the rear plate between thelower surface of the upper arm and the top surface of the base whilefeeding the alignment tool toward the rear plate. Similarly, thematerial for the wedge can be a rubber, a plastic material, a cloth, orany resilient material the like.

[0023] All these objects are achieved by an alignment tool forassembling a rear plate and a frame of a flat display panel describedbelow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] The present invention will now be specified with reference to itspreferred embodiment illustrated in the drawings, in which

[0025]FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the relationship among a metal frame,a glass rear plate and a glass front plate of a conventional flatdisplay panel;

[0026]FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing an manual aligning method forassembling the glass rear plate and the metal frame in the prior art;

[0027]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of analignment tool for assembling a rear plate and a frame of a flat displaypanel in the present invention;

[0028]FIG. 4A is a cross sectional view showing the operation of thealignment tool in FIG. 3;

[0029]FIG. 4B is a schematic view showing the position of an alignmentnotch of the alignment tool and an alignment mark of the rear plate;

[0030]FIG. 4C is a schematic view showing the position of the alignmentnotch of the alignment tool of and another alignment mark of the rearplate;

[0031]FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing the relationship of analignment notch of another alignment tool and an alignment mark of therear plate;

[0032]FIG. 6 is a side view of another preferred embodiment showing analignment tool with a fastening mechanism in the present invention; and

[0033]FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view of another fastening mechanismaccording to the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0034] The invention disclosed an alignment tool for assembling a rearplate and a frame of a flat display panel. It will be appreciated by oneskilled in the art that variations of these specific details arepossible while still achieving the results of the present invention. Inother instance, well-known components are not described in detail inorder not to unnecessarily obscure the present invention.

[0035] Referring now to FIG. 3, a perspective view the alignment tool inthe present invention is shown. The alignment tool 5 is used to assistthe alignment of the glass rear plate and the metal frame. The rearplate 2 (shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2) includes a front surface 20, a rearsurface 22, and an alignment mark. The rear surface is positionedopposing to the front surface 20 and contacts with the frame 3 duringthe aligning process. In the present invention, the alignment mark 21has a predetermined thickness and is protruded from the front surface 22of the rear plate 2. The frame 3 (see FIG. 1) has an aperture 31 foraligning with the alignment tool 5.

[0036] As shown in FIG. 3, the alignment tool 5 of the present inventionincludes a base 51, a clamp arm 52 protruded from the base 51, and anupper arm 54 protruded from the clamp arm 52.

[0037] The base 51 has a top surface 511 and an alignment notch 52, thetop surface contacts the front surface 20 of the rear plate 2, and thealignment notch 512 provides at least two alignment sides 5121 to matchwith the alignment mark 21 during the aligning process.

[0038] The clamp arm 52 is protruded from the base 51, and the upper arm54 is further protruded from the clamp arm 51. The upper arm 54 includesan arm lower surface 541 parallel to and spaced apart from the topsurface 511 of the base 51 by a predetermined distance for forming anopen space 53 between the upper arm 54 and the base 51. During thealigning process, the arm lower surface 541 contacts the rear surface 22of the rear plate 2, and the open space 53 is used to receive the rearplate 2.

[0039] Referring to FIG. 4A, a cross sectional view showing theoperation of the alignment tool 5 is illustrated. FIG. 4 is shown alonga centerline of the alignment notch 512. The rear plate 2 furtherincludes a lateral side 24 connecting the front surface 20 and the rearsurface 22. Besides, the clamp arm 52 has an inner vertical surface 523adjacent to the open space 53, and the lateral side 523 is positionednext to the inner vertical surface 24 while the alignment tool isaligned with the rear plate 2.

[0040] While the rear plate 2 and the frame 3 is aligned by thealignment tool 5, the rear plate 2 is sandwiched in the open room 53between the base 51 and the upper arm 54, and the upper arm 54 isinserted into the aperture 31 of the frame 3. Referring to FIG. 4B, aschematic view showing the alignment between the alignment notch 512 andthe alignment marks 21 is present. After the aligning process is done,the alignment marks 21 is leaned against the alignment sides 5121 of thealignment notch 512 to ensure the alignment between the rear plate 2 andthe alignment tool 5. In this embodiment, pair of alignment marks 21 ispresent to match with a single alignment notch 512. However, a singlealignment mark 21 can also be used to provide a pair of sides 211 tomatch the alignment sides 5121 of the alignment notch 512 as shown inFIG. 4C.

[0041] Referring to FIG. 3, FIG. 4B and FIG. 4C, the alignment notch 512is a wedge-shaped opening for providing two slanted sides as thealignment sides 5121. Yet, the sharp of the alignment notch 512 can bevaried. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, a rectangular alignment mark 21and a respective rectangular alignment notch 512 are applied. Similarly,the alignment notch 512 can be a hole or a cavity (not shown) ratherthan the opening as shown in previous embodiments. When the alignmentmark 21 is thin, the base 51 of the alignment tool 5 can slide over thealignment mark 21 when feeding the alignment tool 5, so that thealignment mark 21 still can match with the hole-shaped alignment notch512.

[0042] Referring to FIG. 6, a side view of the alignment tool 5 in afurther embodiment is shown. In this embodiment, the alignment tool 5further includes an alignment element 522 for aligning with the aperture31 of the frame 3. In addition, the upper arm 54 further includes alower opening 532 at the lower surface 541 and an interior accommodationspace (not shown in the figure) for accommodating a fastening mechanism.A portion of the fastening mechanism is exposed from the lower opening532. By using the fastening mechanism, the rear plate 2 can be fastenedgradually between the lower surface 541 of the upper arm 54 and the topsurface 511 of the base 51 while the alignment tool 5 is feeding towardthe rear plate 2 (as the arrow direction shown in FIG. 6).

[0043] As shown in FIG. 6, the fastening mechanism of the alignment tool5 has a roller 533 spaced apart from the arm lower surface a distance.The roller can move along a predetermined track 534 when feeding thealignment tool 5 toward the rear plate 2, so that the distance betweenthe roller 533 and the arm lower surface 541 can be shortened gradually.Thereby, the roller 533 can gradually press the rear plate 2 duringfeeding the alignment tool 5, and so that the rear plate 2 can then befirmly held between the upper arm 54 and the base 51 of the alignmenttool 5. In the present invention, the roller 533 can be a wheel, a ball,or any the like, and rotate by a pivot shaft 535 for moving along thetrack 534. The material of the roller 533 can be a rubber, a plasticmaterial, a cloth, or any compressible material the like.

[0044] Referring now to FIG. 7, another fastening mechanism is shown. Inthis embodiment, the fastening mechanism is a wedge 531 having a narrowend 5311, and the interior accommodation space 56 of the upper arm 54 isa wedge-shaped space having a restricted end 561. As shown, the narrowend 5311 of the wedge 531 and the restricted end 561 of the wedge-shapedspace 56 at the upper arm 54 are located close to the clamp arm 52. Whenthe alignment tool is moved toward the first direction 58 (as shown bythe arrow), the wedge 531 moves along the arrow direction 58, the narrowend 5311 will rib against the rear plate 2. Therefore, the rear plate 2will be fastened gradually between the upper arm 54 and the base 51while feeding the alignment tool 5 toward the rear plate 2. Similarly,the material for the wedge 531 can be a rubber, a plastic material, acloth, or any resilient material the like.

[0045] The prior vision deviation problems during the aligning processcan be reduced by positioning the alignment tool 5 in the front surfaceof the rear plate 2. By providing a protruded alignment mark 21, thealignment mark 21 will match the alignment sides 5121 of the alignmenttool 5, and the aligning process will not be operated by the eye of theoperator. By providing the fastening mechanism of the alignment tool 5,the fastening of the rear plate 2 within the open space 53 can beassured. Therefore, the object of the present invention to provide analignment tool which is simply operated, low-cost and precise in analigning process can be successfully achieved.

[0046] While the present invention has been particularly shown anddescribed with reference to a preferred embodiment, it will beunderstood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form anddetail may be without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention.

I claim:
 1. An alignment tool for assembling a rear plate and a frame ofa flat display panel, said frame having an aperture, said rear platehaving a front surface and a rear surface opposing to said frontsurface, said rear surface being used for adhering with said frame in analigning process, said front surface further having an alignment markwith a predetermined thickness and protruded from said front surface,said alignment tool comprising: a base including a base top surface andan alignment notch, said base top surface being used for contacting saidfront surface of said rear plate, and said alignment notch having atleast two alignment sides for matching with said alignment mark; a clamparm protruded from said base; and an upper arm for aligning with saidframe and protruded from said clamp arm, said upper arm having a armlower surface parallel to and spaced apart from said base top surface bya predetermined distance and forming an open space therebetween, saidarm lower surface being used for contacting said rear surface of saidrear plate during said aligning process; wherein said rear plate issandwiched in said open space during said aligning process, saidalignment mark on said rear plate is leaned upon said alignment sides ofsaid alignment notch, so that said alignment mark is inserted into saidalignment notch and said upper arm is positioned in said aperture ofsaid frame.
 2. The alignment tool according to claim 1 , wherein saidalignment tool further includes an inner vertical surface adjacent tosaid open space, said rear plate further includes a lateral sideconnecting said front surface and said rear surface, and said lateralside of said rear plate is positioned next to said inner verticalsurface while said alignment tool is aligned with said rear plate. 3.The alignment according to claim 1 , wherein said alignment notch is awedge-shaped opening for providing two lateral sides as said alignmentsides.
 4. The alignment tool according to claim 1 , wherein saidalignment mark includes thereof at least two slanted edges forrespectively matching with said alignment sides of said alignment tooland for sliding said alignment mark into said alignment notch duringsaid aligning process.
 5. An alignment tool for assembling a rear plateand a frame of a flat display panel, said frame having an aperture, saidrear plate having a front surface and a rear surface opposing to saidfront surface, said rear surface being used for adhering with said framein an aligning process, said front surface further having an alignmentmark with a predetermined thickness and protruded from said frontsurface, said alignment tool comprising: a base including a base topsurface and an alignment notch, said base top surface being used forcontacting said front surface of said rear plate, and said alignmentnotch having at least two alignment sides for matching with saidalignment mark; a clamp arm protruded from said base; an upper arm foraligning with said frame and protruded from said clamp arm, said upperarm having a arm lower surface and an alignment element, said alignmentelement aligning said aperture of said frame, said arm lower surfacebeing parallel to and spaced apart from said base top surface by apredetermined distance and forming an open space therebetween, said armlower surface being used for contacting said rear surface of said rearplate during said aligning process; wherein said rear plate issandwiched in said open space during said aligning process, and saidalignment mark on said rear plate is leaned upon said alignment sides ofsaid alignment notch for inserting said alignment mark into saidalignment notch.
 6. The alignment tool according to claim 5 , whereinsaid rear plate further includes a lateral side connecting said frontsurface and said rear surface, said alignment tool further includes aninner vertical surface adjacent to said open space, and said lateralside of said rear plate is positioned next to said inner verticalsurface while said alignment tool is aligned with said rear plate. 7.The alignment according to claim 5 , wherein said upper arm furtherincludes an interior accommodation space and a lower opening, saidinterior accommodation space accommodates a fastening mechanism, aportion of said fastening mechanism is exposed from said lower opening,and said fastening mechanism is used for gradually fastening said rearplate between said lower surface of said upper arm and said base topsurface while said alignment tool is feeding toward said rear plate. 8.The alignment tool according to claim 7 wherein said fastening mechanismfurther includes a roller spaced apart from said arm lower surface adistance, said roller moving along a predetermined track while feedingsaid alignment tool toward said rear plate so as to gradually shortensaid distance between said roller and said arm lower surface.
 9. Thealignment tool f according to claim 8 wherein said roller is a wheelthat moves along said track by a pivot shaft.
 10. The alignment toolaccording to claim 8 wherein said roller is a ball that moves along saidtrack by a pivot shaft.
 11. The alignment tool according to claim 7wherein said fastening mechanism is a wedge having a narrow end, saidinterior accommodation space is a wedge-shaped space having a restrictedend, said narrow end of said fastening mechanism gradually moves towardsaid restricted end of said interior accommodation space in order togradually fasten said rear plate between said arm lower surface of saidupper arm and said base top surface of said base.
 12. The alignment toolaccording to claim 7 wherein said fastening mechanism is made of aresilient material.
 13. The alignment tool according to claim 12 whereinsaid resilient material is a rubber.
 14. The alignment tool according toclaim 12 wherein said resilient material is made of plastics.